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Wednesday, 30 January 2013

Thirty
people joined market analyst Stephen Howarth and I for BPEX Live, our online
workshop this week.

Stephen
explained how production costs vary between key pig-producing countries. His
data also suggested priority areas where British producers should focus to help
improve their pig performance and reduce their costs of production.

While our
finishing herd efficiency is pretty good and on a par with the European
averages, our breeding herd performance is still behind. The number of pigs
weaned per sow per year in Britain is the lowest in the EU at
22.56 (2011 figures).

The EU
average number of pigs weaned per sow per year is 25.10, with
Denmark and the Netherlands averaging more than 28.

Three main
things that producers can address to make a difference to the numbers of pigs
weaned and thus help reduce our cost of production are:

The English pig industry is a relatively high cost producer relying on a price premium to remain competitive.

The strategic challenge, therefore, is to improve our physical performance on farm to be more cost-efficient. This is where the Knowledge Transfer team concentrates its efforts, in helping to 'close the gap' with competitors in Europe.